Following Nick Walsh’s “mystifying” decision to send off Mohamed Diomande of Rangers, Kris Boyd was among the first to fully support him.
With the exception of Chris Sutton, the overwhelming majority agreed that there was no evidence to support the Ivorian midfielder’s dismissal following his shove by Kevin Holt of Dundee United.
Boyd, who was on punditry duty for Sky Sports that day, took a jab at Walsh for being “stubborn” enough to stick with the ruling after reviewing the incident on the VAR monitor.
Philippe Clement promised to appeal it right away, and Rangers were vindicated yesterday when the bid was successful and the player won’t have to serve any penalty.
Even previous referee Dermot Gallagher supported the Gers and said that he was “surprised” it wasn’t reversed at the VAR stage, so in a way, it wasn’t shocking.
Boyd‘s voice was joined by Ally McCoist and Billy Dodds, who acknowledged that the usage of VAR was “mystifying.”
Walsh is not to blame for Rangers‘ red, Boyd acknowledges.
Surprisingly, however, Boyd has taken back his initial remarks. He has made the decision to partially fire Walsh, but he hasn’t changed his judgment that the call was ultimately incorrect.
He acknowledges that he feels sorry for the whistler since he was denied the chance to view the event from a different perspective on the screen.
Boyd now knows why he initially believed he had witnessed a slap, because the pictures that were displayed to him were all taken from the same perspective.
“It was a strange one,” he stated on the Go Ballistic podcast from The Scottish Sun. Diomande has been a key member of Rangers, so I’m happy that it has been overturned and he may play now.
Given the position from which he witnessed the action, I can see why Nick Walsh initially gave the red card.
“In a way, you can look at it and say there is a little bit of sympathy there for Nick Walsh in terms of he didn’t see any other angles…so did VAR do its job properly? Probably not.
“Kevin Holt’s head didn’t move, from that angle that Nick Walsh saw, I get it. But if you start giving out cards, Declan Gallagher was involved as well, who was already booked. Kevin Holt had a couple of shoves.
“None of them were booked, Diomande was sent off. I’m just glad that it was overturned and someone saw a bit of common sense.”
Boyd’s initial remarks regarding Walsh
He angrily said, “Embarrassing,” to Sky Sports. When you go to the monitor, I believe you can be too stubborn at times; sometimes you just have to own up to your mistakes. Nick Walsh ought to have, too.
“There is no cruelty or undue force, and if I were a Rangers, I would have filed my appeal at this very moment.
“I believe that whether he even smacks him is somewhat equivocal. No undue force is used.
“I don’t understand. From his vantage point, it could appear as though Nick Walsh has slapped him. However, it is not definitive.
“I believe Nick Walsh has exhibited the ability to react quickly at times. He has then had the opportunity to view it four, five, or possibly more times. You can be too stubborn at times.
That one will be overturned, in my opinion. Regardless, it need to be appealed.
Leave a Comment